607. Devilish Diva
Samuel’s eyes blinked open. He saw the rifts vanishing from the skies above. He watched as millions of tiny dark globules floated up to the sky, inking the crimson dome overhead. He looked on as the ground shifted— as Reconstruction began.
The Netherworld itself trembled, and the white rocks littering the ground seemed to vibrate in place. Samuel could feel each and every slight vibration of the earth from where he lay. It was unsettling. Uncomfortable. Unbearable. But he didn’t move.
He couldn’t move. His mouth refused to listen to him, and he failed to stop his fingers from twitching. A pool of dark liquid continued to spread from his back to his feet.
Samuel was bleeding. He was dying. A hole filled his chest as he gasped out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes flickered, and he watched as tiny droplets of his own blood spilled to the sky, floating up and glimmering with a crimson glare, before becoming one with the clouds.
“I…”
He whispered as his eyes fluttered shut for a moment. And when he opened his eyes once more, he saw it. The sky shook— a crack ripped across the sky. There, above the forming clouds, two figures danced.
Samuel could barely make out their shapes from the distance between them. But he knew what they looked like. He had seen them up-close, and that was why he was in his current state. The sky rippled as the dancing figures clashed, unleashing a shockwave that shook the dimensional fabric of all the Netherworld.
It was a silent battle. No booming explosions, and no massive craters. It was part of a ball that wove in and out of this world. Their figures seemed to vanish, then returned, only to disappear once more. Each time they reappeared, the sky rippled like it was the surface of a lifeblood lake being battered by the falling rain.
When Samuel saw this, he could barely understand what was happening. All he knew was one thing—
This was a battle between Worldwalkers, and he was a mere Lesser Demon. He should not have been in their presence, but for whatever reason, here he was. So with a tired sighed, he closed his eyes and resolved himself. If he survived, he was going to be like them.
Samuel was going to become a god.
And the fighting continued.
“I know you think me foolish for trusting a man called the Trickster, but you must understand, my dear daughter— the situation was far more complex than that.”
Sal leant back as my brows snapped together. I heard his words— I listened to what he said. But I was still confused by it. I glanced towards Haec, however he looked even more perplexed than I was. Neither my companion nor his friends even knew what a Worldwalker was, let alone who Trico was supposed to be.
So I was the only one who was even partially informed on what my dad was saying.
“Complex how?”
I crossed my arms, peering into his dark eyes.
“He betrayed you! He was a Worldwalker— and they’re the ones who ruined the Nexeus! I don’t see how it can be any more complicated than that.”
“Well, for one, my dear daughter, what you know of the Worldwalkers from the Kobolds is wrong.”
Sal smiled at me as he held my gaze. I blinked.
“What?”
I asked, and he nodded simply.
“The Kobolds have done a better job at remembering the history of our world than any other Species in the Mortal Realm, but the history they have written is very much different from what happened.”
He rose to his feet and spun around. He faced the crimson sky above as I exchanged a glance with Haec.
“Reality is often complex, and those who record history forget that. After all, the Kobolds claimed that it was the Worldwalkers who tore the fabric of our world apart— that their Dragons were the ones who repelled them to save the Nexeus.”
The Devil stared into the distance, letting out a soft sigh. He slowly turned back towards me as I blinked. His eyes were now normal. They no longer bore into me with the weight of an endless void. He had white scleras, and golden irises, just like mine. The only difference was that instead of having vertical slit-like pupils, they were cut horizontally across his eyes.
“But the Worldwalkers were no monolith. There is no single, unified cabal of them that exists where they come together every Saturday, hand out some newspapers, brew some coffee, and plan out their agenda for the coming week.”
“Um… what?”
I stared at Sal, completely thrown off by his analogy. He waved a hand dismissively.
“Perhaps there are small groups here and there, but the idea of all these traveling gods banding together from all across the vast multiverse comprised of endless realities beyond what you can even begin to imagine… that’s an incredibly ridiculous notion. Furthermore, it was not even the Dragons alone who rose up against the Worldwalkers as the Kobolds love to claim.”
“They weren’t?”
I narrowed my eyes as I recalled what I learned during my time in the Plaguelands. I had spoken with Xidra— an important Kobold [Herbalist]— and she had told me that the Old Gods were the ones who had repelled the Worldwalkers from the Nexeus.
However, my dad was saying that this wasn’t true. He chuckled as he walked up to me. Haec, Taburas, Bertrugil, and Aemlua backed up.
“You claim me a fool for trusting Trico, but it was not just I. The Dragons, the Fairies, and even the Spirits all trusted him. After all, it was he who gathered us together, warning of the end of days— warning us of the corruption.”
And as the Devil came to a halt right before me, his eyes glinted with his memories. I saw what he saw all those eons ago.
Samuel jolted awake once again when he saw the flash of light even through his closed eyes. One of the dancing figures was knocked out of the sky, before tumbling down into the ground.
The young [Fiend]’s eyes grew wide when he saw the figure crashing just ahead of him, forming a massive crater that shook the earth. A moment later, a second object landed right at the edge of the basin. It was ashen gray, and it had three prongs jutting out of one edge.
It was… a weapon of sorts.
Samuel stared at it for a long moment, confused at what he was looking at, when he heard a voice cough out.
“Ouch— that hurt. Fucking bitch packs a punch, doesn’t she?”
Even though he could barely move, he slowly craned his neck to face the source of the voice. An incomprehensible figure pulled himself out of the crater, before dusting himself off. He stood on two legs, and he bore two arms, no different from an average [Fiend].
But what differentiated him from any Demon Samuel had ever seen was the composition of hiss skin. It was… almost as if he was made of an expansive dark canvas— one that was speckled with tiny stars, little worlds, and clouds of colorful gas. But with each movement he made, it was like the image being reflected from his body shifted, showing something else.
He looked up with no face— just more stars— as he searched for the fallen weapon.
“Now where did I put…”
But he couldn’t finish. He was interrupted a moment later. The second figure that had been hovering high above shot straight down towards him. A winged figure grabbed him by his faceless face, slamming him onto the ground again. But this time, a second crater didn’t open up. Instead, the world itself cracked— a fracture formed in space as Samuel looked on at this battle between Worldwalkers.
“Gathered… you all together?”
I narrowed my eyes at my dad. He nodded slowly as he placed a hand on his chest.
“All of us immortals, yes. Whether it be Dragons or Demons. It mattered not to Trico. We became his army, and we fought under his banner.”
My brows furrowed as I remembered the mural I saw down at the Remnants of the First Demon Kingdom. I remembered seeing an army of Demons with their weapons raised to the sky, bowing and kneeling, led by the Devil. And above them, the Worldwalkers looked down upon them from the skies.
“But I thought you worshipped the Worldwalkers? Or did you only worship Trico?”
“Worship them? Ha, good one.”
Sal shook his head as he laughed.
“No, my dear daughter. We did not worship the Worldwalkers. Far from it, actually.”
He grinned, spreading his arms wide.
“We went to war with them.”
“Fuck, shit, fuck—”
The first Worldwalker cursed as he was held into the air by his opponent. His face was cracked, and he couldn’t break out from her grasps. She raised a finger and aimed for his head.
“Trico the Trickster.”
Samuel heard the tinny voice as it echoed all around him. He could barely make out the figure of the second Worldwalker. All he saw was that she had a single feathered wing— onyx black, and like it was made of stone. She had many eyes, and a metal mask covering the lower half of her face. Her skin was light gray, and she had four arms.
“I have had enough of your pranks. I am not letting you mess with my vacation plans ever again.”
“Come on, Via! You can’t be serious, right? Who even goes to Peridose C89 anyway? It’s a shithole universe! You should come with me to Elisium instead. It’ll be much more fun!”
Via’s many eyes narrowed, and her grip on Trico’s neck tightened. He squirmed as he tried to break free. But she was too strong.
“And be killed by Solium? You do realize he has gone insane? We are not True Gods— even the creator of a lesser universe can kill us both with the snap of a finger.”
“But that’s the fun part— urk, you’re squeezing too tight!”
Trico tried to laugh, but he could only choke as the second Worldwalker refused to let go. She stepped forward and raised him higher as she spoke.
“If you wish to get yourself killed, then I can grant your wish.”
A glinting appeared at the tip of Via’s finger, and his eyes went wide. He thrashed in her grip, raising both of his hands in surrender.
“Wait, wait, wait! You can’t be serious, right? You do realize I’ll… die die if you kill me here, right?”
“That is the point, correct.”
Via nodded as the iridescent glow of the powerful aura coalescing at her fingertips shone brighter. Trico cursed as he waved his hands in the air.
“I yield! I yield! I—”
And he paused when he caught sight of a figure lying just ahead. At the very top of the crater lay Samuel. This entire time, even as both Worldwalkers conversed, he had been watching— listening in disbelief.
The young [Fiend] never imagined he would ever have seen a Worldwalker up close, let alone hear their conversation. But now, he had. And even more than that, he had drawn the attention of one of them.
Trico stopped squirming as he held Samuel’s gaze. Slowly, the Worldwalker nodded, speaking without a mouth.
“Hey.”
A voice echoed in Samuel’s mind. Via didn’t seem to notice it. It was communicated directly to the young [Fiend]. He blinked a few times as he raised his head.
W-what…? he could barely even muster up the thought.
And the stars on Trico’s body sparkled as he asked Samuel a simple question.
“Ever wondered what it’s like to kill a Worldwalker?”
MelasD
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Join my discord or subreddit.
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607. Devilish Diva
Samuel’s eyes blinked open. He saw the rifts vanishing from the skies above. He watched as millions of tiny dark globules floated up to the sky, inking the crimson dome overhead. He looked on as the ground shifted— as Reconstruction began.
The Netherworld itself trembled, and the white rocks littering the ground seemed to vibrate in place. Samuel could feel each and every slight vibration of the earth from where he lay. It was unsettling. Uncomfortable. Unbearable. But he didn’t move.
He couldn’t move. His mouth refused to listen to him, and he failed to stop his fingers from twitching. A pool of dark liquid continued to spread from his back to his feet.
Samuel was bleeding. He was dying. A hole filled his chest as he gasped out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes flickered, and he watched as tiny droplets of his own blood spilled to the sky, floating up and glimmering with a crimson glare, before becoming one with the clouds.
“I…”
He whispered as his eyes fluttered shut for a moment. And when he opened his eyes once more, he saw it. The sky shook— a crack ripped across the sky. There, above the forming clouds, two figures danced.
Samuel could barely make out their shapes from the distance between them. But he knew what they looked like. He had seen them up-close, and that was why he was in his current state. The sky rippled as the dancing figures clashed, unleashing a shockwave that shook the dimensional fabric of all the Netherworld.
It was a silent battle. No booming explosions, and no massive craters. It was part of a ball that wove in and out of this world. Their figures seemed to vanish, then returned, only to disappear once more. Each time they reappeared, the sky rippled like it was the surface of a lifeblood lake being battered by the falling rain.
When Samuel saw this, he could barely understand what was happening. All he knew was one thing—
This was a battle between Worldwalkers, and he was a mere Lesser Demon. He should not have been in their presence, but for whatever reason, here he was. So with a tired sighed, he closed his eyes and resolved himself. If he survived, he was going to be like them.
Samuel was going to become a god.
And the fighting continued.
“I know you think me foolish for trusting a man called the Trickster, but you must understand, my dear daughter— the situation was far more complex than that.”
Sal leant back as my brows snapped together. I heard his words— I listened to what he said. But I was still confused by it. I glanced towards Haec, however he looked even more perplexed than I was. Neither my companion nor his friends even knew what a Worldwalker was, let alone who Trico was supposed to be.
So I was the only one who was even partially informed on what my dad was saying.
“Complex how?”
I crossed my arms, peering into his dark eyes.
“He betrayed you! He was a Worldwalker— and they’re the ones who ruined the Nexeus! I don’t see how it can be any more complicated than that.”
“Well, for one, my dear daughter, what you know of the Worldwalkers from the Kobolds is wrong.”
Sal smiled at me as he held my gaze. I blinked.
“What?”
I asked, and he nodded simply.
“The Kobolds have done a better job at remembering the history of our world than any other Species in the Mortal Realm, but the history they have written is very much different from what happened.”
He rose to his feet and spun around. He faced the crimson sky above as I exchanged a glance with Haec.
“Reality is often complex, and those who record history forget that. After all, the Kobolds claimed that it was the Worldwalkers who tore the fabric of our world apart— that their Dragons were the ones who repelled them to save the Nexeus.”
The Devil stared into the distance, letting out a soft sigh. He slowly turned back towards me as I blinked. His eyes were now normal. They no longer bore into me with the weight of an endless void. He had white scleras, and golden irises, just like mine. The only difference was that instead of having vertical slit-like pupils, they were cut horizontally across his eyes.
“But the Worldwalkers were no monolith. There is no single, unified cabal of them that exists where they come together every Saturday, hand out some newspapers, brew some coffee, and plan out their agenda for the coming week.”
“Um… what?”
I stared at Sal, completely thrown off by his analogy. He waved a hand dismissively.
“Perhaps there are small groups here and there, but the idea of all these traveling gods banding together from all across the vast multiverse comprised of endless realities beyond what you can even begin to imagine… that’s an incredibly ridiculous notion. Furthermore, it was not even the Dragons alone who rose up against the Worldwalkers as the Kobolds love to claim.”
“They weren’t?”
I narrowed my eyes as I recalled what I learned during my time in the Plaguelands. I had spoken with Xidra— an important Kobold [Herbalist]— and she had told me that the Old Gods were the ones who had repelled the Worldwalkers from the Nexeus.
However, my dad was saying that this wasn’t true. He chuckled as he walked up to me. Haec, Taburas, Bertrugil, and Aemlua backed up.
“You claim me a fool for trusting Trico, but it was not just I. The Dragons, the Fairies, and even the Spirits all trusted him. After all, it was he who gathered us together, warning of the end of days— warning us of the corruption.”
And as the Devil came to a halt right before me, his eyes glinted with his memories. I saw what he saw all those eons ago.
Samuel jolted awake once again when he saw the flash of light even through his closed eyes. One of the dancing figures was knocked out of the sky, before tumbling down into the ground.
The young [Fiend]’s eyes grew wide when he saw the figure crashing just ahead of him, forming a massive crater that shook the earth. A moment later, a second object landed right at the edge of the basin. It was ashen gray, and it had three prongs jutting out of one edge.
It was… a weapon of sorts.
Samuel stared at it for a long moment, confused at what he was looking at, when he heard a voice cough out.
“Ouch— that hurt. Fucking bitch packs a punch, doesn’t she?”
Even though he could barely move, he slowly craned his neck to face the source of the voice. An incomprehensible figure pulled himself out of the crater, before dusting himself off. He stood on two legs, and he bore two arms, no different from an average [Fiend].
But what differentiated him from any Demon Samuel had ever seen was the composition of hiss skin. It was… almost as if he was made of an expansive dark canvas— one that was speckled with tiny stars, little worlds, and clouds of colorful gas. But with each movement he made, it was like the image being reflected from his body shifted, showing something else.
He looked up with no face— just more stars— as he searched for the fallen weapon.
“Now where did I put…”
But he couldn’t finish. He was interrupted a moment later. The second figure that had been hovering high above shot straight down towards him. A winged figure grabbed him by his faceless face, slamming him onto the ground again. But this time, a second crater didn’t open up. Instead, the world itself cracked— a fracture formed in space as Samuel looked on at this battle between Worldwalkers.
“Gathered… you all together?”
I narrowed my eyes at my dad. He nodded slowly as he placed a hand on his chest.
“All of us immortals, yes. Whether it be Dragons or Demons. It mattered not to Trico. We became his army, and we fought under his banner.”
My brows furrowed as I remembered the mural I saw down at the Remnants of the First Demon Kingdom. I remembered seeing an army of Demons with their weapons raised to the sky, bowing and kneeling, led by the Devil. And above them, the Worldwalkers looked down upon them from the skies.
“But I thought you worshipped the Worldwalkers? Or did you only worship Trico?”
“Worship them? Ha, good one.”
Sal shook his head as he laughed.
“No, my dear daughter. We did not worship the Worldwalkers. Far from it, actually.”
He grinned, spreading his arms wide.
“We went to war with them.”
“Fuck, shit, fuck—”
The first Worldwalker cursed as he was held into the air by his opponent. His face was cracked, and he couldn’t break out from her grasps. She raised a finger and aimed for his head.
“Trico the Trickster.”
Samuel heard the tinny voice as it echoed all around him. He could barely make out the figure of the second Worldwalker. All he saw was that she had a single feathered wing— onyx black, and like it was made of stone. She had many eyes, and a metal mask covering the lower half of her face. Her skin was light gray, and she had four arms.
“I have had enough of your pranks. I am not letting you mess with my vacation plans ever again.”
“Come on, Via! You can’t be serious, right? Who even goes to Peridose C89 anyway? It’s a shithole universe! You should come with me to Elisium instead. It’ll be much more fun!”
Via’s many eyes narrowed, and her grip on Trico’s neck tightened. He squirmed as he tried to break free. But she was too strong.
“And be killed by Solium? You do realize he has gone insane? We are not True Gods— even the creator of a lesser universe can kill us both with the snap of a finger.”
“But that’s the fun part— urk, you’re squeezing too tight!”
Trico tried to laugh, but he could only choke as the second Worldwalker refused to let go. She stepped forward and raised him higher as she spoke.
“If you wish to get yourself killed, then I can grant your wish.”
A glinting appeared at the tip of Via’s finger, and his eyes went wide. He thrashed in her grip, raising both of his hands in surrender.
“Wait, wait, wait! You can’t be serious, right? You do realize I’ll… die die if you kill me here, right?”
“That is the point, correct.”
Via nodded as the iridescent glow of the powerful aura coalescing at her fingertips shone brighter. Trico cursed as he waved his hands in the air.
“I yield! I yield! I—”
And he paused when he caught sight of a figure lying just ahead. At the very top of the crater lay Samuel. This entire time, even as both Worldwalkers conversed, he had been watching— listening in disbelief.
The young [Fiend] never imagined he would ever have seen a Worldwalker up close, let alone hear their conversation. But now, he had. And even more than that, he had drawn the attention of one of them.
Trico stopped squirming as he held Samuel’s gaze. Slowly, the Worldwalker nodded, speaking without a mouth.
“Hey.”
A voice echoed in Samuel’s mind. Via didn’t seem to notice it. It was communicated directly to the young [Fiend]. He blinked a few times as he raised his head.
W-what…? he could barely even muster up the thought.
And the stars on Trico’s body sparkled as he asked Samuel a simple question.
“Ever wondered what it’s like to kill a Worldwalker?”
MelasD
You can now read up to 30 chapters ahead on my patreon and support the webcomic.
Join my discord or subreddit.
Follow me on twitter or instagram.
